Los Angeles
County Bar Association President Paul Kiesel met late Thursday afternoon in a
closed-door session with leaders of LACBA sections, in what was termed a “study
hall,” to brief them on the association’s finances, with the bottom line being that
with income from continuing legal education (“CLE”) packages and other sources,
LACBA is nearly breaking even.

This was in
contrast to Kiesel’s remark at a Board of Trustees’ meeting on Nov. 18 that
LACBA is “losing a million dollars a year.” He backed down under questioning by
a trustee, saying he did not have an exact figure.

Those attending
Thursday’s meeting were told not to repeat what they heard. One of them
reported:

“We were told
that we could not take down any details and they would not give us slides.”

The person said
that the message was that “if you take event revenue and the direct costs
associated with events and subtract the cost of the Section administration and
support, there is about a 550,000 deficit but if you add in revenue from CLE
plus, Section dues and some of CLE in a box, you get closer to break even.”

Pro Bono
Spending

The financial
statement for the Counsel for Justice—the pro bono/charitable arm of
LACBA—shows, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2014, a forgiveness of a debt to LACBA
of $546,375, with a remaining debt of $23 million.

However, an
attendee at the “study hall” said:

“The pro bono
projects the Bar supports now have enough grants and donations that they are
break even on a direct cost basis.”

The meeting was
called in response to what two former LACBA presidents—John Carson and Charles
Michaels—referred to, at the Nov. 18 meeting, as “angst” among section members.
A “Council of Sections” (no longer described as “interim”) was formed in light
of common concerns over LACBA policies, and five sections have discussed the
possibility of withdrawing from LACBA.

Proposed Bylaw
Change

The event
immediately precipitating formation of the counsel, chaired by Carson, was a
proposed bylaw change that would formally remove from the sections any control
over their own finances—reflecting a policy, already in place, that contravenes
the existing bylaw. The change was approved in early November by the Executive
Committee, comprised of the officers, and was included with materials supplied
to trustees with the agenda the evening prior to their Nov. 18 meeting.

LACBA Senior
Vice President and Treasurer Michael Lindsey has said that approval at that
meeting was expected.

However, members
of sections learned of the proposal on the afternoon of the meeting, and
several showed up, with eight of them, including Carson and Michaels, speaking.
They asked that action be deferred for two months.

Prior to their
remarks, Assistant Vice President Duncan W. Crabtree-Ireland moved that the
bylaw change be approved. After the section leaders spoke, with prompting by
Kiesel, Crabtree-Ireland amended his motion to defer action on it until
January.

MCLE Prices

Also of concern
within sections are proposed CLE rules that would forbid free courses, and
require charging prices ranging from $55 a hour to section members to $120 an
hour for non-members of LACBA.

The attendee at
the Thursday meeting said, in an email:

“Under a formula
blessed by the outside auditors there is about $1 million of general Bar
overhead that is allocated to the Sections. I think it is finding a way to
cover some of this overhead that is driving some of the proposed CLE
guidelines.”